"Slum street, a place where sorrow and desire mingle
together. Around this corner, down a back alley, there lives a man rumored to
have the ability to bring the dead back to life, a necromancer."

When I read those words I had a feeling Necromancer would be
a manga worthy of reading. Indeed, I was not disappointed. The manga,
Necromancer, draws one in immediately with a tale of horror leading to the
entry of Asutsuo Johann Faust, Slum Street’s necromancer. Despite being only 18
he is a powerful necromancer who will fulfill your desire provided you follow a
simple set of rules and heed his warning.

For you to revive a loved one requires a ‘devil’s contract’
meaning three years of your life taken and given to the one revived. Those
three years play a definite role in how the stories of the manga unfold. Most
of all is the warning given: “A soul restored using Necromancy, has a much
stronger heart than in their past life, which strengthens their desires.” Be
wary of what you choose because you may find your newfound joy turning to pure
horror.

I would have enjoyed the Necromancer, to a point, if the
whole manga consisted only of these tales of horror when treating death so
lightly. However, there is far more to the necromancer than his work in reviving
the dead. Asutsuo’s story is more fascinating than the demons unwittingly brought
back. He is the black to the white of Ricott, the young police investigator,
who is trying to ‘rehabilitate’ the necromancer. Unknown to her she is at the
center of this tale of sorrow and redemption.

When Asutsuo, and his family’s contracted demon, Stolas find
themselves once again pursued by the overly zealous church of Magdala, Ricott
will be drawn into the fray. Her forgotten past draws you into the story as the
revelations of the last necromancer, ‘mary Magdalene,’ and a corrupt religious
organization bent on destruction come to light. With a bone-eating demon named, Knochenfresserin,
hungry for ‘baby Faust’s’ soul adding to the mayhem, you will be enthralled in
this horrifying manga tale.